My fresh right - hand man for Florida agriculture R&D has been shopping at the UF / IFAS poinsettia sale for years , so he ’s a immature industry customer as well as its newfangled research worker - in - head . He even made a raffle of poinsettias one of the centrepiece of his section ’s holiday party this year .

by Jack Payne , University of Florida senior frailty President of the United States for agriculture and natural resources and loss leader of the Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences

Rob Gilbert becomes the University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences research dean in January . He has a substantial record of helping UF / IFAS scientist succeed , and now it ’s his problem to aid Michael Dukes , Roger Kjelgren and Dean Kopsell succeed .

As a member of the IFAS Cultivar Release Committee , Rob has been fascinated to pick up about ornamental plant breeding computer programme . One of the thing that energise him about his new job is the chance to turn more closely with these plan .

Rob ’s documentation for ornamental plant breeding will contribute to the large UF / IFAS Research consignment to plant creation as one of the nation ’s largest and most productive university industrial plant training team .

Rob expend his life history seemingly preparing for this task . He knows how our off - campus research station like the Mid - Florida Research and Education Center in Apopka study . He go the Everglades Research and Education Center in Belle Glade as director . He knows how academic departments like Environmental Horticulture piece of work – he served as chair of the UF / IFAS Agronomy Department .

allot money to the Everglades REC increased by 365 percent on Gilbert ’s watch . Since he take over the Agronomy Department , funding is up by 136 percent . That ’s a sign that masses were stimulate a luck more success under his leadership .

Rob has done all this in an surround where he ’s had federal funding agencies , producers , environmentalist , local politico , university administrators , and even law enforcement looking over his shoulder . He ’s succeed in sugar and hemp . He can deal whatever ornamental industrial plant disceptation and turf warfare look him .

If you ’ve heard anything about sugar in the Everglades , then you could appreciate that Gilbert ’s work as a cane scientist there was done in a pressure - mob environment . Or how about manage the first stages of research on a craw that investor and producers are clamoring for but that the Drug Enforcement Administration had label a Schedule I drug ?

Gilbert has helped promote accurate medium insurance coverage and a clear distinction between industrial hemp and marijuana by telling reporters that while they are both cannabis , so are Chihuahuas and neat Dane both dogs . And he has been cite as saying of industrial hempen necktie , “ If you fume it , you ’ll be painfully disappoint . ”

Though research is his domain now , Gilbert also appreciate the value of Extension . As a member of UF President Kent Fuchs ’ end - set Task Force , he championed the inclusion of Extension in the resulting Decade Ahead design .

All of this is why I ’ve promoted him for a third time in eight years . He ’s an accomplished scientist and an accomplished drawing card .

Gilbert will confront the huge challenge of overseeing agricultural research in a United States Department of State that produces some 300 commodities . That ’s a lot of ground to cover , and he intend to start hatch it on a hearing tour in early 2019 .

Gilbert prize the value of impactful research . Memories of the muck in and on his shoe in the cane field prompt him it takes hard work to make that impact . There ’s no reason for him to believe it ’s any different in the nursery , in the nursery , or in the dean ’s office .

Source : FNGLA